Cooks Hill unit fire sends five to hospital after residents jump from third storey windows

17 December 2025

newy.com.au – Five people were taken to John Hunter Hospital after a fire ripped through a three storey unit block on Parkway Avenue at Cooks Hill just after 10:30pm.

Four people jumped from a third storey window to escape the smoke and heat, while a fifth was treated for smoke inhalation, with emergency services saying none of the injuries were life threatening.

Inspector Craig Clark from Newcastle City Police District said police and emergency services were called about 10:35pm to 99 Parkway Avenue after reports the unit complex was “well alight by fire”.

Clark said officers arrived to find people “jumping out of the top story windows”, with ambulance crews treating them at the scene before they were taken to hospital.

Asked if the fire was suspicious, Clark told reporters: “I can’t say at this stage. It’ll be part of the investigation.”

NSW Ambulance chief superintendent Luke Wisman said crews treated “a total of five” patients, with four transported to John Hunter Hospital with orthopaedic injuries and one patient suffering smoke inhalation.

Wisman said one patient with smoke inhalation was still undergoing assessment and any burns were still being checked, while praising the speed of the response, with an inspector arriving “within 2 minutes of the triple0ero call”.

Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Andrew Duncan said firefighters received multiple triple zero calls about 10:30pm and were confronted with “a very intense fire” and casualties on the ground who had jumped to save themselves.

Duncan said crews also rescued a person from the second level using a ladder, with that patient suffering smoke inhalation after heat and smoke travelled through the centre of the building and into upper units through their front doors.

He said the upper residents had no balconies and broke windows to escape, adding that while the jump “seems extreme”, it was safer than remaining inside amid the smoke.

Police remained on scene on Wednesday as detectives began investigations into what caused the blaze.